This invention generally relates to apparatus for rewinding flexible web material. In particular, this invention relates to apparatus for independently rewinding a plurality of slit web material into rolls in a web slitting and rewinding machine.
In a web slitting machine, a flexible web material is slit into a plurality of continuous strips and such strips are wound into rolls by a strip rewinding apparatus. In order to wind continuous strips of thin web material of a poor tensile strength with slippery surfaces into soft rolls of a substantially uniform density and with smooth end faces, it is necessary to have a roller in peripheral contact with the strip roll being wound and keep the pressure between the contact roller and the strip roll substantially at a predetermined constant level throughout a rewinding cycle. Still better results are obtained if the strips are rolled up by employing not only centre driving but also surface driving. In the web slitting machine, a continuous web is generally slit into a plurality of strips and these strips are wound simultaneously into different rolls by a winding apparatus. Various winding apparatus are known and used in the web slitting machines to wind simultaneously a plurality of slit strips into rolls. However, prior winding apparatus are complicated in structure, bulky in size and are not necessarily satisfactory in operation. For example, in prior winding apparatus, a plurality of rewinding cores are supported by a common support structure, and accordingly it is impossible to regulate various rewinding conditions of each strip roll independently of other strip rolls.